example ib english commentary

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Example Commentary

In a Word: Now - Martin Luther King

The selected passage contains Martin Luther King’s entire essay, In a Word: Now. This essay

was published in 1963 in the New York Times Magazine, just after King gave his famous “I

Have a Dream” speech during the march on Washington. The purpose of this essay was to

reinforce the message of this speech, highlighting the urgency that was required to bring

about the changes King aspired for and encouraging both black and white audiences to

continue working towards equal rights for the African-American people. King utilises

structure to emphasise the urgency of his message, statistical evidence and quotations to

support his arguments, diction to show the desperation of the situation, and imagery to

deliver a more powerful message.

Firstly, King structured this essay with very short paragraphs, which creates a more urgent

demanding tone for the essay. With each paragraph only a few lines long, readers are given

the sense that each point is direct and clear. This technique allowed King to show readers

that action was necessary, and that they could no longer waste time on superfluous details.

In addition, readers get the sense that King’s ideas are well-thought out and direct, which

contrasts the nature of the government’s planning that King describes as “disorganised”

(line 26). Hence, the readers are invited to feel that King was leading them down a pre-

determined path that would take them directly to their goal, and could place greater

confidence in him than in the government.

King also portrays the urgency of the situation through the use of capitalisation. Throughout

the first half of the essay, he capitalised the word ‘now’ to draw the readers’ focus to this

word. In particular, he describes direct action from the government as “an urgent part of

NOW” (line 9). This capitalisation clearly shows readers that King’s plans are not for the near

or distance future, but that he is calling on them to take immediate action. This continues to

create the demanding tone for the essay, which serves to remind the African-American

readers that they would be able to get their equal rights then and there by following King,

encouraging them to persist in the cause and not lose hope. Also, white readers are invited


to see that King had developed an action-plan, and that they were dealing with a group with

clear objectives for their actions. It was particularly important for King to reach both groups

because the New York Times Magazine would reach the two audiences alike.

Secondly, in the opening of the essay, King gives a quote from Victor Hugo that highlights

the need for progress. Since Victor Hugo was an advocate of civil rights, quoting from him

draws upon readers’ knowledge of his work, and make the connection between him and

Martin Luther King. We are given the sense that King is supported by Victor Hugo, which

builds faith in his ability to achieve his goals and make the progress he desires. Therefore,

readers feel that they can trust King and they will see the outcomes they desire by following

him.

King also employs statistical evidence to provide numerical weight to his arguments. He

quotes numbers such as “eleven million men in arms in a few short years” and “hundreds of

thousands of coordinated facilities” (lines 28-30), referencing the progress that the US

government had previously made. King contrasts these large achievements with the smaller

issue of civil rights, encouraging white audiences to see that they were completely capable

of overcoming the problem, and that it was ridiculous to suggest that they could not. The

use of such large numbers also gives the white people a sense of pride in their

achievements, encouraging them to see that giving the African-American people their civil

rights would only add to the list of their achievements, and hence encouraging them to take

action to make it so. In this way, King’s use of quotes and statistical evidence makes his

cause more appealing to readers and encourages them to take action.

Thirdly, Martin Luther King’s language is essential for creating the urgent tone and

demonstrating the desperation of the situation. In particular, his diction conveys the horror

of African-American living conditions to shock readers and invite them to see that the

problem needed to be fixed immediately. King describes the “shocking police brutality” (line

8), with the repetition of the word “brutality” again on line 12 and 15. The connotations of

the word brutality suggest terrible and harmful actions that are made without feeling or

provocation. King hence invites the white readers to see that the black people were merely

victims of their situation who required their help to be free. He therefore constructs them

to be the heroes of the people if they were to take immediate action to change the


situation. Also, King’s diction helps to juxtapose his own proposals for action with the

planning made by the government, describing it to be “spontaneous, largely disorganised

and spasmodic” (line 26), whilst his direct tone gives readers the idea that King is prepared

and organised to make the necessary changes. This invites readers to doubt the reliability of

the government to manage the problem, and portrays King as the better leader.

In addition, the use of rhetorical questions encourages readers to draw an expected

conclusion that is parallel with the arguments made by King. He asks readers “What is the

content of NOW?” (line 6), encouraging them to question and draw on their experiences to

give their own definition. King then describes his own action plan that intends to answer the

question in a manner that would reflect the audience’s response. This highlights that King’s

ideas are reasonable and that readers can relate to his thinking, feeling like they have been

part of the planning for the future. This apparent participation makes the readers more

involved in the situation and desire to join King to overcome it.

Finally, the use of imagery brings power to King’s speech as it shows the forces pushing for

change to be powerful. King opens with the simile of “an obstacle in a river makes the water

foam” (line 2) and compares it to humanity and progress. This comparison creates imagery

for the readers, likening themselves to being a part of the river. During the essay, he

constructs the US government to be an obstacle in the path of the progress of the river, and

invites readers to be a part of the force of the river to overcome it. Also, this imagery gives

readers the sense that the policies of the government are causing them to stand still,

whereas by uniting with King, they will be making progress at a rapid rate. This idea is shown

as King describes the “hundreds of thousands who marched on Washington to level

barriers” (line 5), showing the masses of black people to be on the path to progress,

hindered only be the barrier of the government. For the black readers, they are invited to

feel part of a great and important movement, similar to the message in the essay “Our

Struggle,” whilst white readers see that they will gain nothing by standing still, and should

join in the progress towards a better future. King brings the essay full circle by reinforcing

this imagery again with reference to “a seething humanity” (line 34). Readers are given the

sense of pressure building, and have the feeling of trepidation that it is about to explode

unless the pressure is released.


To summarise, Martin Luther King structured this essay with short paragraphs and

capitalisation to convey the urgency of his message to readers and make them realise that

immediate action was necessary. He used quotes and statistical evidence to support these

arguments and show himself to be a strong and reliable leader. The use of language,

particularly diction and rhetorical questions, juxtaposed the planning of the US government

with King’s forethought and direction to encourage readers to join him. Finally, he used the

simile of the river and obstacle to show readers that the path to progress was with the Civil

Rights Movement and encourage them to join before the US government’s policies were

completely swept away under their force. The overall purpose of this essay was unify both

black and white readers to the cause and demonstrate the need for immediate action to

bring about the necessary changes. This message is similar to King’s essay “Nonviolence and

Racial Justice,” showing King’s plans to be the best method to achieving equality and

overcoming the issues faced by the USA during that time.

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